Carmel fire death toll rises to 43

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The death of another prison guard bus passenger raised the toll from the Carmel Forest fire to 43.

Jalal Bisan, 29, died Saturday in a Haifa hospital.

Bisan, a father of two, was on board a bus racing to evacuate a prison in the path of last week’s historic blaze that was engulfed in flames. Thirty-eight of the passengers on board were burned to death.

The other victims of the fire, which is being called Israel’s worst civilian disaster, were three police officers — including Haifa Police Chief Ahuva Tomer — a firefighter and a 16-year-old volunteer.